Established: As an independent agency by an act of March 4, 1923
(42 Stat. 1509).

Predecessor Agencies:

Battle Monuments Board, War Department (1921-23)

Functions: Designs, constructs, and maintains permanent U.S.
military cemeteries and memorials in foreign countries, and
controls the design of U.S. war memorials in foreign countries by
other sponsors. Maintains lists of burials and rosters of
military personnel recorded as missing. Provides information
concerning burial places and memorials.

Related Records: Record copies of publications of the American
Battle Monuments Commission in RG 287, Publications of the U.S.
Government.

Textual Records: Records of the central office, Washington, DC,
including subject correspondence, 1922-59; meeting minutes and
agendas, 1923-93; annual reports, 1924-92; legislative history
files, 1946-88; monuments and memorials correspondence files,
1949-74; contract files, 1946-88; World War I monument
and memorial files, 1923-68, and cemetery files, 1925-69; World
War II cemetery and memorial files, 1947-68 (36 ft.); monthly
reports of the Paris office, 1923-46, and of regional offices,
1946-66; and records concerning construction of the Pacific War
Memorial, Honolulu, HI, 1961-64; and letters received regarding
the Korean War Memorial, 1990-91. Records of the European Regional
Office, Garches (a Paris suburb), France, relating to that
office's administration and maintenance of U.S. cemeteries and
monuments of World Wars I and II located in Europe, and
consisting of a decimal file, 1918-67; letters sent, 1944-62, and
received, 1940-65; and construction and maintenance files for
World War I cemeteries, 1920-39, and World War II cemeteries,
1948-65.

Photographs (135 images): Original sketches and panoramic views
of World War I cemeteries in Europe, 1923-30 (SK). SEE ALSO
117.9.

Sound Recordings (21 items): Dedication of the Meuse-Argonne War
Memorial, Montfaucon, France, August 1, 1937, featuring speeches
by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, French President Albert
Lebrun, U.S. Ambassador William C. Bullitt, Gen. Pershing, and
Marshal Petain. SEE ALSO 117.8.

Photographs (455 images): Dedication ceremonies held at U.S.
cemeteries and memorials in Europe, 1937 (MM). SEE ALSO 117.9.

Textual Records: Copies of agreements with foreign governments
and related records (1851-1967), dealing with rights and
responsibilities of the United States with respect to its
military cemeteries abroad, principally its World War I
cemeteries in Europe, n.d. Records relating to interments, 1923-
64. Lists containing statistics on U.S. combat casualties in the
Chateau-Thierry sector (1917-18), n.d. Headstone inscription and
Internment records for U.S. military cemeteries on foreign soil,
1946-49. Pamphlets describing 23 United States military cemeteries
and memorials, 1975-95.

Maps (64 items): Photoprocessed maps and plans relating to U.S.
cemeteries and monuments in Europe, 1936-39. SEE ALSO 117.5.

Video Recordings (1 item):The Price of Freedom, 1973. SEE ALSO
117.6.

Photographs (1,331 images): World War I cemeteries and memorials
in Europe, 1924-32 (MC, 907 images; CM, 277 images). U.S.
memorials and cemeteries from World Wars I and II, including
memorials in San Francisco, New York City, and Honolulu, 1924-66
(MP, 147 images). SEE ALSO 117.9.

Color Slides (1,003 images): 545 designs submitted to the American
Battle Monuments Commission for the Korean War Veterans Memorial,
1988-89 (KDS). SEE ALSO 117.9.

Color Lithographs (25 images): Memorials and cemeteries for United
States armed forces personnel who died in World War I and World War
II, 1982 (LC). SEE ALSO 117.9.

History: Established under the ABMC Secretary, February 5, 1924.
Abolished, 1939, having completed the Terrain Photographs
Project, 1925; the publication of A Guide to American
Battlefields in Europe, 1927, and its revision, American Armies
and Battlefields in Europe, 1937; and the research for what was
eventually published, 1944, as Summary of Operations in the World
War.

117.4.2 Records relating to World War I frontline maps and
accompanying "summaries of operations"

History: Army and Marine Corps officers, detailed to ABMC and
assigned to Historical Section, ca. 1923-30, plotted maps showing
the daily frontline position of each division of the American
Expeditionary Forces (AEF) during periods of active operations on
the Western Front, and prepared brief accompanying narratives
known as "summaries of operations." Maps and "summaries of
operations" were then referred to officers of the divisions
concerned for comment and correction. The Historical Section used
the officers' comments to prepare revised and expanded versions
of the maps and "summaries of operations" during the 1930's. The
revised and expanded versions were published, 1944, as a series
entitled Summary of Operations in the World War (28 vols., one
for each division).

Textual Records: Correspondence of the Historical Division with
former AEF division officers concerning the maps and "summaries
of operations," 1923-30, with index to correspondents.

Maps (190 items): Operations maps overprinted in red to show AEF
divisions' daily frontline positions (1917-18), 1937-38. Proof
copies of World War I order of battle maps, 1938 (100 items). SEE
ALSO 117.5.

Maps (381 items): Manuscript and photoprocessed maps and tracings
compiled for publication in A Guide to American Battlefields in
Europe, 1927 (71 items), and American Armies and Battlefields in
Europe, 1936-38 (310 items). SEE ALSO 117.5.

SEE Photographs UNDER 117.3.1, 117.3.2, 117.3.3, and 117.4.4.
SEE Color Slides UNDER 117.3.3
SEE Color Lithographs UNDER 117.3.3.

Bibliographic note: Web version based on Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States. Compiled by Robert B. Matchette et al. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1995.
3 volumes, 2428 pages.